Phantom of the Summerhouse
by Graceful Pledge
Summary: Chap. 8 is up! Dedicated to 1 of the most glorious times of the year, SUMMER. Continues after the 2005 POTO movie. Erik finally has a home in his new summerhouse. Christine & Raoul are married, but something in the midst of this hot summer just went wrong
1. Default Chapter: Beginning in The End

**Phantom of the Summerhouse**

**A/N: Hello all, authoress FreeMind Annette reporting for duty. I don't have much to say here today, except for this: Keep reading and reviewing everyone, and spread the joy of reviews (not flames). Hope you enjoy my latest work. **

**Fanfic Summary: Dedicated to one of the most glorious times of the year, SUMMER. Continues the story after the 2005 POTO movie. Erik left Paris and has finally found a home in his new summerhouse. Christine and Raoul are married, but something in the midst of this hot summer just went wrong. Can Erik be truly happy forgetting about Christine.  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own POTO (cuz if I do I'd be having a big backyard bbq party with them right now, but alas, no). **

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**Default Chapter: The Beginning in "The End"**

It was a quiet night in Paris, all seemed pretty normal, that is until a fire broke out in the the Opera Populaire. It was the work of the Phantom. The opera _Don Juan _ended in a disaster and the Opera House was almost burned down into ruins.

Deep down in the cold labyrinth underground of the Opera Populaire, bands of police forces and some of the brave casts of the opera house went down into the unkown below, in pursuit of the phantom. Aside from the noises of hurrying footsteps of the mob, if you listen carefully faint sounds of voices could be heard:

(Raoul and Christine are on a boat, rowing away. Leaving the Phantom behind)

Christine:** Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime...**

Raoul:** Say the word and I will follow you...**

Christine:** Share each day with me, each night, each morning...**

Erik:** You alone can make my song take flight -**

(Erik is holding a candle-holder and ready to break the mirrors).

Erik:** It's over now, the music of the night!**

_CRASH!_

_"Ahhhhhhhh!" _Erik suddenly sat up from his bed with sweat on his face, taking in big deep breaths. _"It was all a dream."_

The Phantom had escaped from the mob, and the soprano Christine Daae and the Vicomte Raoul was nowhere to be found. Married, it's a possibility, but no one is certain of their union yet. He looked around to see his dark bedroom abundantly furnished with all sorts of funiture and a comfortable bed to sleep in is, safe and sound even in the early hours of the day, but alone.

_"It was all a dream." _Erik thought. _"This is third time this week, why does it keep coming back to me? Maybe this is a sign that perhaps I might see Christine again, someday, somehow..."_

He stood up and walked towards the kitchen._ "Now that I'm awake, I might as well get a glass of water." _Erik sighed_. "I may be alone but at least I'm somewhat safe in this abandoned house outside Paris, far away from the masses."_

The kitchen window right by the sink reveals a beautiful view of a cold, calm lake. Evervytime he passes by the window he couldn't help but remind himself of his old home, the house on the lake beneath the Opera Populaire. The only main difference is that his new home is a house by a lake, where for the first time, fresh air and sunlight fills the atmosphere of his home.


	2. Day 1: The Heat Wave in Paris

**Phantom of the Summerhouse**

**Disclaimer: Awww do I have to do this everytime. (sighs) Oh well, no I still don't own POTO, but I have cookies (yum. Gets up and starts eating cookies.)**

**Fanfic Summary: Dedicated to one of the most glorious times of the year, SUMMER. Continues the story after the 2005 POTO movie. Erik finally has a home in his new summerhouse. Christine and Raoul are married, but something in the midst of this hot summer just went wrong.**

**Pokes fun at "the things we people do during summer". Hence, the parody and humour genre. Enjoy! **

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**Chapter 1: It's summer, let's go on a Vacation!**

The streets of Paris had never been busier since the big opera house fire incident that happened two months ago. Many men are pitching in to help clean up the rubble and to rebuild the fallen Opera Populaire. Now that the hot month of June has arrived, bringing in the most scorching heat wave known to Parisians, everyone is trying to keep cool, and beat the heat of Mother Nature.

Even the massive, luxurious abode of Christine and Raoul De Chagney cannot escape the relentless heat of the summer sun. And it seems the married couple is experiencing a very uncomfortable day inside.

"It's so hot today." Christine said as she fanned herself with a small white feather fan, pacing back and forth across the living room, trying to keep her mind busy from the heat. "It's like the sun can just melt anything."

"Yeah, just like yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and…" Raoul replied.

"Yes, I see where this is going." Christine interrupted Raoul before he could pick up momentum to ramble on how unbearably hot the rest of the previous days were. She sat down on a chair and sighed. "There's got to be a way to beat this city heat wave."

Raoul went silent for a few seconds, thinking of a plan to alleviate their weather dilemma. Without warning, Raoul quickly stood up from his chair, with a smile on his face and an idea in his mind.

"I have an idea…"

"If this is one of your weird ideas on how to beat the summer heat, like buying ice and snow from Iceland, then my answer is no." Christine was definitely prepared to prevent her husband from jumping into action with his bizarre, half-baked plans.

"No no no, Christine, this time it's different." Raoul reassured his wife. "I just remembered that I have a wonderful summerhouse on top of a hill located a few miles away from Paris. It even has a nice, cold lake beside it."

"Hmmm… I like the sound of this place." Christine thought.

"I say we go to our summerhouse and spend the rest of the summer there till autumn comes, that way by the time we come back to Paris the heat wave would be gone."

"That's actually a great idea." Christine said. "Finally, things are looking up now."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Raoul darted out of the door, excited.

"Wait, Raoul!" Christine stood up and trailed right behind Raoul, until she finally caught up with her husband and grabbed him by the end of his shirt, prompting him to stop. "You haven't even packed your clothes for the trip yet!"

"Oh, guess I almost forgot to pack my stuff, from all this excitement." Raoul said. "Or maybe the heat is getting to me lately."

"I believe it's a bit of both, but more on the latter." Christine joked.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Christine giggled. "Anyway, let's start packing now, the sooner we do, the sooner we can escape this heat and have fun."

"Indeed." Raoul and Christine went upstairs into their bedroom to pack their clothes, determined to have some summer fun on their first summer season together as a happily married couple.


	3. Day 2 Part I: This is my house!

**Phantom of the Summerhouse**

**A/N: Another day, another fanfic... well that's all I can say. Have fun. Read and Review folks!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I didn't become famous fast and early enough to own POTO. So that means- no I still don't own POTO and stuff like that.**

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**Day 2: This is my House!**

Christine and Raoul both woke up bright and early; hoping to reach the summerhouse in the afternoon. Two hours had passed, and their carriage had at last reached its destination.

"We made it, at last!" Christine jumped out of the carriage brimming with energy.

Raoul on the other hand seemed a tad tired from the trip, since he was the one who drove all the way from home. "Man, those fifteen miles seemed longer than I thought."

Christine turned around to see her exhausted partner. "If you were so tired of driving the carriage, then why didn't you ask me to drive it halfway through the trip?"

"Because I'm too afraid." Raoul answered.

"I don't understand?"

Raoul placed his hand on his forehead and sighed, trying to remember the traumatic past. "When we went to Belgium for our honeymoon, you insisted on driving but fell asleep on the driver's seat after driving on the road for five minutes."

"And…" Christine said.

"We almost ran over six people, and one of them was a very elderly woman and did I mention that we nearly crashed into two merchant wagons filled with chickens."

"What's so bad about that?" Christine asked. "You make it sound like it is a very bad thing"

"It is a bad thing!"

"What's done is done, and besides, it's not like we ended up in an accident or anything back then."

"Oh really," Raoul made his point across to his wife that something else had happened other than those he had just mentioned. "We landed on a big ditch, lost the horses, and got stuck there for a day, and to top it off, it was raining cats and dogs at night, remember? And that is why I never let you drive in the first place. I would prefer being dead tired from driving, than having another near-death experience halfway through a trip."

Christine finally realized why she wasn't given a chance to drive ever since that honeymoon incident. "Oh, okay I thought you just don't like my driving because it's too fast."

"Well that too, is an issue." Raoul added.

"I'm just not used to long road trips that's all." Christine admitted. "I can't help but fall asleep."

"The important thing is that we're here safe. That aside, could you bring some the bags inside the house while I park our carriage inside the stable. When I'm done I'll bring in the remaining half." Raoul went back to carriage, while Christine walked up to the front porch and unlocked the door.

Christine briefly heard the sound of strange footsteps from the other side of the door. She hesitated to open the door.

"Huh, I could've sworn I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the inside of the summerhouse."

Raoul noticed that Christine was standing motionless in front of the door for several minutes, with her ear pressed against the door, and her hand on the doorknob. "Is something wrong?" Raoul asked.

Christine turned around and thought, "I heard someone or something inside the house. Raoul, does anyone else use this house other than you?"

"Absolutely not," Raoul answered, "this summerhouse was my 18th birthday present from my parents so no one else uses this place other than me. It's been almost two years since I last visited this place; you probably just heard a mouse or some rabbit so don't worry."

Slightly relieved, Christine took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.

The interior's floors and walls are furnished with mahogany hard wood; the oak laden ceiling is full of beams and lanterns, even the furniture is made of wood. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except that almost everything is made out of wood.

"Wow, even the inside looks like one of those cottages from the old days!" Christine said in awe, looking around at the spacious living room as she makes her way to the kitchen. "Everything is so neat, and tidy, and…" Suddenly something struck at Christine as strange and unusual.

"That's weird? If Raoul hasn't been in this summerhouse for two years, then this place should be all dirty and musty. But for some odd reason, everything here is so clean and tidy."

"Don't panic Christine, don't panic, just calm down. Deep breaths... remember, deep breaths." A bit anxious with the situation, Christine started singing to herself, to keep her mind busy from having a nervous breakdown-

"Say you love me every waking moment

Turn my head with talk of summer time

Say you need me with you now and always

Promise me that all you say is true

That's all I ask of you."

Out of the blue, another voice, unknown, started to sing the moment Christine sang those words.

_"Say you'll share with me  
One love, one lifetime  
Lead me, save me from my solitude_

_Say you want me  
With you here  
Beside you  
Anywhere you go  
Let me go too"_

"Raoul? Is that you? No, it can't be, that's not his voice. But this voice… it's so beautiful, yet familiar." After listening carefully, Christine's eyes widened with shock and went upstairs to where the source seemed to be coming from. For she believes that the heavenly voice is from none other than…

_"Christine that's all I ask of..."_

Christine opened the bedroom door to reveal-

"Erik!"

"_Christine!"_

"What are you doing here?" Christine asked.

_"I live here, this is my house."_ Erik replied.


	4. Day 2 Part II: Breaking and Entering

**Phantom of the Summerhouse**

**Teacher: Attendance! John.**

**John: Yeah!**

**Teacher: Mary.**

**Mary: Here!**

**Teacher: FreeMind... Annette?**

**Authoress: PRESENT!**

**LOL**

**A/N: Thank you for reviewing Celixir, your words have not gone unheard. I was just busy for the past five days (from work), and I needed ideas. But now I'm happy to publish Part II of the previous chapter, YAY!**

**P.S. I'm glad you like my fic "Erik for President". Though most of my work only gets one or two happy readers like you (I don't write just to get readers), for me it means a lot. Every review helps, and it's what gets me insipred and stay strong to my writing passion. Again, thank you. **

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Oh yeah, almost forgot. I don't POTO. **

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**Day 2 Part II: Breaking and Entering**

Christine, jaw-dropped and wide-eyed, was still in a state of shock when Erik told her that he is actually living in Raoul's summerhouse.

Erik walked up in front of her and waved his hand in front of her face.

"_Ummm… Christine, are you alright, you haven't said a single word for three full minutes now?" _

Christine made no reply.

"_Oh c'mon Christine, don't give me the silent treatment. I didn't come here to stalk on you or anything like that, honest."_

Still no response.

"_Say something, anything!"_

Christine's eyes began to shut slowly, and her head began to bob.

"_I wonder if Christine's feeling all right, perhaps she's still in a state of shock… or she could faint anytime now. Maybe I should poke her to see if she is fine."_

Erik walked up closer to Christine, his hand on the same level as his face, with his index finger ready in its poking position.

"_Maybe I shouldn't do this; I mean Christine must be upset as it is already. Argh... but the temptation is killing me, and I'm so damn curious!"_

He hesitated for a while, contemplating, whether to poke… or not to poke her. But after a few seconds, Erik finally gave into the temptation of curiosity.

"_Oh what the heck… I'm just gonna poke her a little on the cheek anyway. I mean…what could possibly go wrong?"_

Erik raised his poking finger and-

Poke… poke…

"_Christine… Christine… Are you okay?"_

Weak on her knees, Christine collapsed onto the floor without warning. Fortunately, Erik caught her in the nick of time before she fell flat on her face to the hardwood floor.

Erik took a good look at her face for a moment to realize that she actually fainted when Christine's eyes closed and was bobbing her head like a sleepy little girl. _"Whoa, I did not expect her to faint at a time like this. I'll take her downstairs so she can rest up in the sofa, while I pour some champagne in the kitchen."_

Filled with bliss, Erik carefully walked down the stairs, with Christine safe on his arms, more than delighted to be reunited with his one and only love.

_"What a wonderful summer this is turning out to be! This calls for a celebration!"_

Once he reached the foot of the stairs, the knob of front door turned, revealing the last person on Earth that Erik had ever wanted to cross paths.

"Christine, I'm done parking the carriage. Is there anything else that needs to be done- Oh my God!"

Erik turned around to see Raoul at the front door, and a couple of luggages that he unintentionally dropped on the floor, with a surprised look on his face.

"Erik what are you doing here!" Raoul asked. His wandering eyes had found its way into Erik and the fainted Christine, who was still in the arms of the phantom. "Did you come here to stalk on Christine again, like you did at the opera house!"

"_I am not here to stalk on Christine," _Erik protested, _"why does everyone think that I'm nothing but a lonely, ingenious, masked, stalker?" _

"Because that's who you really are?" Raoul said in a rather straightforward tone.

An angry streak came upon Erik's face; it seems he would snap very soon.

"Uh oh, he's got that 'I'm so pissed that I'm going to kill you' look." Raoul thought.

Erik calmly walked into the living room, and gently laid Christine on the sofa. _"I suppose, it's time to clean up this unfinished business of mine."_

"Unfinished business… what are babbling about!"

"_I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" _Erik ran up to Raoul and leaped at his target, filled with murderous rage.

"SON OF A—"

O.o

CENSORED! — Everything went black…

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Several hours later… the sun had already set. The dark night came, and it was getting late… 

Erik was sleeping in the living room chair, and across him was Christine, still lying unconscious on the sofa. But for some reason though, the living room is quite a mess, and Erik's clothes seem to be awfully filthy.

The silence was suddenly broken; sounds of glass shattering had disturbed Erik's peaceful sleep.

"_What, he's back again for more!"_ Erik thought. _"Well he won't get in that easily!"_

Erik stormed out of the living room and dashed into the source of the noise, the kitchen.

Moments later, Christine was stirring on the sofa. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

"Huh… where am I?" Christine staggered, and she caught sight of the messy living room. "What happened here? The living room is so messy. Did I thrash in my sleep?"

Christine tried rearranging the knocked down furniture, however she felt a strong, dull headache.

"Owww… my head hurts. I wonder why?" Christine looked at her pocket watch to realize that it was ten o'clock at night already. "I can't believe I slept through the entire day! Well if that's the case, I must be just dehydrated from all the summer heat. Yeah… that's right, I remember seeing Erik and then things went black."

Christine paused for a while, "Not good! If Erik's really here then he and Raoul might be fighting right now! I must stop them before things get out of hand."

She ran towards stairs, only to be held back by her persistent headache. "Ow ow ow … on second thought, maybe I should get some water first before I go searching for them."

Making her way to the kitchen, she heard voices, familiar voices. But they seem to be a bit too quiet to be the sound of two men fighting.

"I hear voices that must Raoul and Erik." She went into the kitchen, witnessing a scene she had never dreamed would ever happen.

"_Christine!" _Erik said, astonished.

"Sweetheart!" Raoul shouted, surprised to see his wife be here to see him in his humiliating predicament.

"What on Earth are you two doing?" Christine asked. "And why is my husband on a window?"

Erik looked at Christine, then his hand, realizing that he was still holding a kitchen knife, which he hid behind his back immediately.

"Hold on for a second," Erik raised his other hand gesturing her to stop for a moment, "did you just say 'husband'?"

"Yes, yes I did." Christine replied. "There's no sense hiding it from you now, Erik. Raoul and I are married. And secondly, this is actually Raoul's summerhouse."

"What?" Erik shouted. "That can't be, this is my house not his!"

"Raoul and I just came here to have a fun, carefree, summer vacation away from the city. Mind you I never expected to see you here. I hope Raoul's presence doesn't upset you."

"Could someone please help me get through this window?" Raoul interrupted. "Being stuck here is no fun, especially when you are being threatened with a kitchen knife!"

"Shut up!" Erik yelled. "Can't you see I'm trying to talk to Christine here! Or do you want me to kick you out of the house again, like you did to me this afternoon! I'm sure you'd be delighted to sleep outside tonight."

"Enough!" Christine screamed at the top of her voice, which startled them both.

"I am sick, sick and tired of your senseless fighting. If you two can't get along then I'll leave this summerhouse and go back home, ALONE!"

"You can't do that," Raoul said, "you are a horrible horrible driver. You won't make it back to Paris without an accident."

"I don't care!" Christine replied, in a voice louder than her usual tone, giving the message across to them that she really means business. "I've had enough of this! I can't stand it! That's why I'll leave, unless you guys behave like the real gentlemen that I had known to love."

An uneasy silence filled the kitchen, only the sound of the summer night breeze flowing through the open window in which Raoul came somewhat through are heard.

"I'm very sorry Christine." Both apologized in an unintentional unison, which resulted in a glaring contest.

"_You've got some nerve to copy my words!"_ Erik angrily remarked.

"That's my line," Raoul snapped back, "how dare you copy me?"

"Let's put this all aside and help Raoul get out of this window." Christine suggested.

"_Wait, Christine, before we begin pulling this pansy out, there is something else that must be done."_

"What it is Erik?"

Erik placed the kitchen knife that he had back into the drawer and went upstairs into one of the bedrooms.

With Erik gone for the moment, Christine finally has the chance now to ask Raoul the one question that's been bugging her mind— "By the way Raoul, I've been dying to know, how on Earth did you end up stuck on this window?"

"Well, if you must know I'll tell you, although it's quite embarrassing for me to explain while I'm in such a situation— I came in and Erik tried to strangle me to death with his bare hands, and we ended up fighting in the living room, which is why it is such a mess. Then I snatch the key from his jacket, threw it in the tall grass and kicked him out of the house."

"But I still don't get how you got into this window." Christine asked.

"I'm not yet done telling the story." Raoul replied. "Please let me finish."

"Anyway, so after I kicked Erik out of the house, he found the key three hours later and snuck into the back door. Then he hit me on the head with what I believe was a frying pan, after that he dragged me outside, tied me to a tree, and he locked every single door and window in this house, except for this tiny window that I am unfortunately stuck right now."

Christine giggled from the story.

"Are you giggling?" Raoul noticed a trace of laughter on Christine's face. "This is not funny, my other half is numb and cold and I've been stuck here for almost twenty minutes."

"I can't help it," Christine said in between giggles and chuckles, "your story is just so funny that it would be crime for me not to laugh."

"At least Christine is back in good spirits now." Raoul thought. "I won't let anything get in the way of our summer vacation fun, even if Erik is to stay here with us… I promise."

Erik had returned at last, with a bottle of ink and a quill in his arms. _"Now it's my time to have some laughs!"_

"Don't even think about it!" Raoul protested. "This is absurd!"

Erik walked up to Raoul and began to vandalize his face with ink.

"Stoppppppppp!"

5 minutes later…

"_That was fun." _Erik snickered.

"Oh great, now I look like a foolish human doodle."

Christine laughed even harder at the sight of the Raoul graffiti. His face had a drawing of a huge French mustache, a goatee beard, a unibrow, and a black eye. He looked like a circus freak.

"Now… we can get you out of that window." Erik had put away his ink and quill, and grabbed one of Raoul's arms, while Christine grabbed the other.

"Finally, it's about time."

_"On the count of three…"_

_"One…"_

_"Two…"_

_"Three…"_

_"PULL…"_

THUD!

With one great pull, Erik and Christine had tugged Raoul out of the tiny window.

"We did it!" Christine happily exclaimed as she hugged her husband. "Thank you Erik, I couldn't have done it without you."

_"…"_ Erik was speechless.

"Erik, are you… blushing?"

_"NO!"_

"See, see, you're blushing again!" Christine pointed.

_"I do not."_ Erik denied, looking up the ceiling, avoiding eye contact. _"That's such a childish habit."_

Christine giggled. "Now that everything is taken care of, shall we call it a day?"

Raoul yawned. "Yes, let's got to bed now. Luckily there are four bedrooms in this summerhouse, so just to be safe; we'll all sleep in separate rooms."

_"…" _Erik made no comment.

"Are you sure you're fine with this Raoul?"

"I'm sure Christine, besides, if we're in the same bedroom Erik would definitely throw a fit."

"Okay then," Christine said and smiled, "what are we waiting for, let's hit the hay, after all you guys have been though I'm sure you're very tired and sleepy."

"Yes!" Raoul said.

_"Indeed."_ Erik replied.

The trio had changed into their pajamas and slept soundly in their separate, adjacent rooms. The rest of the night was peaceful and quiet, a silence that is sure to be broken once morning comes.


	5. Day 3: Master Cookoff Challenge

**Phantom of the Summerhouse**

**A/N: Hallo! How are you doing? Here's another wonderful chapter of the Phantom of the Summerhouse. I got inspired with this idea with a little help from my older brother and I'd like to thank him for that (cuz usually he doesn't care). I hope you enjoy and have fun reading this as much as I had fun writing this.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POTO! So you can stop staring at me now, oh wait... this is the internet, no one can see me. Ooops, my bad. **

**Day 3: Master Cook-off Challenge**

The rays of the Sun filtering through the curtains fill the room with warmth and light. Dawn has arrived. Christine was greeted with a friendly chirp by the robins in the tree. She sat up and walked up to the window as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. She opened the curtains, letting the bright cheerful light of morning into the room.

"What a wonderful morning!" Christine slid open the window and took a big deep breath. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the sky is blue, and -"

"_WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH THOSE FURNITURES, YOU FOP?" _

Christine sighed, wishing to herself that the beautiful moment she just experienced ten seconds ago could last just a little longer. "There goes my wonderful morning. I wonder what they are arguing about this time."

She went downstairs, to see Erik and Raoul fixing the wrecked living room furniture from all the fighting that happened yesterday. Apparently, their efforts are anything but productive.

"Stop moving every furniture that I'm arranging!" Raoul yelled. "Nothing is getting done with you scrambling everything into a mess."

"_A mess? This so-called mess is far better than your eyesore arrangements."_ Erik snapped. _"You have terrible tastes when it comes to interior designs. I'm just rearranging those that are out of place."_

"Don't tell me what's right and what's wrong! Remember, this is my property, and just because you're the phantom of this summerhouse doesn't mean you can have it your way."

A bead of sweat came down across Christine's worried face. "I've got to do something before things get ugly. Perhaps if they can vent their frustration and anger towards each other in a harmless, productive manner then maybe my sanity and this summerhouse might be spared from the chaos."

Christine scratched her head, pondering, "What should I do before this arguing erupts into another fight just like last night's incident?"

A low growl broke out from her stomach, which just gave her a practical, but brilliant idea.

"I've got it!" Christine thought as her stomach kept growling. "Erik and Raoul should have a cooking contest. Since there isn't any breakfast ready on the table, it's a perfect way to get them into the kitchen and cook. Oh Christine, you're a genius."

With this mindset, Christine cleared her throat and went in between the bickering duo spreading her arms to its full length and said- "If you guys have so much free time and extra energy to be brewing a fight so early in the morning, why don't you whip up some breakfast while you're at it."

"Breakfast? Oh no, I almost forgot about breakfast!" Raoul just realized that it was already seven o'clock and there is nothing prepared in the kitchen for them to eat.

"_I don't eat breakfast,"_ Erik answered, _"so I'm not cooking."_

"Good, cuz I don't want you mooching off from my magnificent edible works of art." Raoul scoffed. "Now we have one mouth less to feed."

"_Like I would eat anything you make!"_ Erik angrily replied. _"If I knew that you're the one making the meals here, then I might as well cook my own stuff, and save myself from food poisoning."_

"Why you freeloading little wise crack!" Raoul was definitely steaming up with anger, he was known in Paris for his impeccable cooking skills, and being called a crappy cook is one of the many insults that he can't tolerate. "I'll show you what a real professional cuisine is supposed to taste. I'll make the best meal you and Christine will ever have!"

"_Oh no, you don't!"_ Erik retorted. _"What makes you think that I'm just going to let you have it your way here? Everything you do, I can do better!"_

"Then it's settled." Christine interrupted. "Since both of you are so eager to cook now, we shall have a… MASTER COOK-OFF CHALLENGE!"

"_Master Cook-off? ..." _

"…Challenge?" Both Erik and Raoul were quite perplexed by the name of the contest, as well as Christine's willingness to let them take charge of the entire kitchen today.

"I'm sorry if the name sounds awkward." Christine looked a bit flustered from their confused reactions. "That's the best I could come up in two minutes."

"It's okay Christine," Raoul patted her shoulder, "there's nothing wrong with what you said."

"_Master Cook-off Challenge… If you think about it, it actually sounds good." _Erik added. _"Aptly named, indeed."_

Happy to hear such kind, sincere comments, Christine ran to the kitchen and called both of them to come over.

"What's the rush, honey?" Raoul came into the kitchen, scratching his head with confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope, everything is just fine and dandy." Christine smiled and opened the refrigerator, scanning every nook and cranny inside.

"_What are you looking for?"_ Erik asked.

"A theme ingredient… Madame Giry always mentions it every time she told me stories of this exquisite cooking competition called 'Iron Chef'… Aha! I found it!"

Christine took the mystery item out of the fridge shelf, ready to announce her chefs the theme ingredient: "Alright, today's breakfast theme ingredient is…"

"…EGGS!"

"Eggs, hah… child's play!" Raoul confidently thought.

"_Eggs… hmmm, this should be easy." _Erik contemplated.

"A cooking competition wouldn't be a challenge without a time limit… so that means, both of you have up until eight o'clock, which is a good solid one hour to complete your breakfast masterpieces. And I will judge your meals as an impartial critic."

"_Sounds like a plan."_

"Seems easy to follow… I like it." Raoul said.

"Well then, the Master Cook-off Challenge will commence when I bite into this apple." Christine had an apple in her hand, counting down- "Ready… set… CHOMP!"

Christine took a bite on the apple, signaling the start of the cooking contest.

"BEGIN COOKING!"

Christine went upstairs to pass the time with a nice, cool bath.

Erik and Raoul each took a one dozen package of eggs and started to gather all the other necessary ingredients into their separate work stations.

However, Erik appears to be a little troubled in his situation.

"_Damn! It's bad enough that I'm not as great a cook as I told them, but now I have to beat this fop in a cooking contest. Man, I've really dug a deep hole for myself this time."_

Erik turned around to see how his opponent is doing.

Raoul was chopping a bunch of vegetables with incredible speed and accuracy. All of a sudden, he stopped halfway through his work and turned around to observe Erik's side of the kitchen.

Erik quickly turned and looked away, trying to look busy. _"Whew… that was close; Raoul almost caught me staring at him."_

"Hmmm… I thought I just saw Erik watching me a second ago? Maybe I'm just being too paranoid." Raoul shrugged and resumed on his cooking.

"_I didn't get any useful information from spying on Raoul. Maybe I should start out with something simple, like a pancake."_

Erik began to gather a couple of bowls and the rest of the ingredients. "Let's see… to make a pancake… you need eggs, milk, flour, butter, and… uh-oh I can't remember the rest of the recipe. I'll just have to improvise it along the way."

Meanwhile… Christine had just finished her bath and was finally dressed when a lovely aromatic scent had drifted its way up to her room, teasing her nose with its alluring smell. "Mmm… something smells good. It seems their doing a great job cooking."

She came downstairs and is walking towards the kitchen, with her nose following the aroma.

"I should check on the guys to see how everything is going."

Christine walked past the kitchen door and caught a glimpse of Raoul's beautiful food, and Erik's… creation, which unfortunately is very unappealing.

"Maybe if I just ignore 'that' I'll be fine." Christine walked away fast with her eyes still wide open from the shock, hoping that Erik's amalgamation of chaos was just her imagination.

**After several minutes...**

Ding ding ding! The timer went off, the clock struck eight o'clock, and the cooking division is over.

"Time's up!" Christine exclaimed. "It's time to test taste your culinary works."

"Finally, the moment of truth." Raoul said as he stretched his arms, content with his fruits of labour.

Erik just finished placing the final touches on his food. _"I assure you Christine; this will be a meal to remember."_

Christine sat down as Raoul presented his meal.

"For today, I've made a country garden omelette and a bacon cheddar quiche.

"Wow! That sounds delicious!"

"Enjoy…"

Christine took a bite from the omelette and the quiche, and she liked it, truly made by a skilled chef. "Smells good, looks good, it comes to no surprise that it taste good too. It's very light and delicate that it eases the stomach as well."

"I'm glad you liked it. Now it's time to present Erik's food." Raoul set aside his meal to make room for Erik's, as he presents his 'unique' dishes.

"Erik… what is this you made?" Christine inquired.

"_Oh… it's a fruit yogurt pancake, and scrambled ham and eggs."_ Erik happily replied. _"I hope you like it."_

"Everything is so jumbled up I can hardly tell which one's the pancake and which one is the ham and eggs. It makes me wish that it never existed. And I could have sworn I saw something moving in there." Christine thought. "I have never seen a dish like this before in my life." She hesitated to pick up her fork for a few seconds, and then she finally had the courage to try it.

She scooped up a green piece of the jumbled mixture (which she believes was the scrambled ham and eggs part) and slowly made its way to her mouth.

Christine was chewing the piece for quite a while before she even made a single comment.

"_How was it?"_ Erik anxiously asked.

"It's… it's…

… SO YUMMY!"

"_I knew it! I knew you would love it!"_ Erik exclaimed, jumping up and down with an even bigger smile on his face than before. _"SUCCESS, SUCCESS!"_

"WHAT?" Raoul shouted in disbelief. "How could something that looks like a jumble hodge podge made of… God only knows what… can be so good?"

"The sweet, sour, bitter and salty sensations are all in harmony." Christine commented. "Every one of them is present and perfectly balanced that it creates this heavenly sweetness that words cannot fully describe."

"I can't believe this… something that looks so horrific can be that delicious."

"I have learned that even dishes that are so ugly on the outside, can be so good on the inside." Christine said.

"C'mon try it Raoul," Christine took another scoop of the goop and tried to spoon feed Raoul. "You'll never know how tasty this stuff is until you try."

"I'd rather not."

"_Oh for Gods sake just eat it already!" _Erik picked up a spoon, plugged Raoul's nose and stuffed a spoonful of the goop into his mouth.

Raoul managed to swallow the big piece, pounding his chest to help it go down.

"You like?" Christine asked.

"… Wow! I can't believe that 'thing' actually taste good!" Raoul said. "And not just average good… but scrumptious good! I guess I've met my very first worthy rival chef."

"I knew you would like it!" Christine smiled.

"_Now that this is all done, can we actually sit down and have a nice breakfast?" _Erik requested.

"I thought you don't eat breakfast?" Raoul reminded Erik.

"_Well… I know I said that… but that doesn't mean I don't get hungry once in a while."_ Erik's stomach let out a little low growl. _"Now, let's eat shall we."_

"Yes!" Christine said.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" Raoul yelled.

After that, Christine, Erik, and Raoul enjoyed their breakfast. All their hard work has paid off. As for how did Erik manage to create such an ugly, yet beautifully tasteful dish, we don't know, only the fact that during and after the test taste division, Erik had a very strange lump on his tuxedo jacket, which closely resembled a sugar bowl.


	6. Day 4: Midnight Madness

**Phantom of the Summerhouse**

**A/N: I don't have much to say, other than this - just keep reading and reviewing guys, and I'll do my very best to update soon. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own POTO... It's so tiring to put this all the time (shudders just from the thought of it), but it's better than being swarmed by lawyers and nasty lawsuits.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Day 4: Midnight Madness a.k.a I think he's trying to kill me**

Morning came and Christine woke up, feeling refreshed. She is in such a great mood that she skipped down the stairs, with a smile ready to greet Erik and Raoul.

It was Raoul's turn to cook today so he was at the kitchen, humming whilst preparing some homemade toaster pastries.

"Good morning Raoul!" Christine walked up to the kitchen and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What are you making today?"

"I'm making my famous homemade toaster pastries with apple filling." Raoul opened the oven, which released a sweet aroma and tickled their noses with delight.

"Oh I've almost forgotten," Christine snapped back into reality after being drifted away by the smell of breakfast. "Have you seen Erik this morning?"

"No, no I haven't." Raoul replied as he and Christine set the table. "I thought you were with him."

"That's strange… Erik is always awake before we even get up… I'll go to his room and check up on him."

Christine turned around and just as she was about to leave the kitchen, Erik came in shuffling through, still in his pajamas.

"Good morning Erik! Thank goodness you're awake, I was getting worried that you haven't gotten out of bed yet."

"Good morning Christine… and you." Erik mumbled, muttering Raoul's name as if it were a nuisance.

What's up with him today? Raoul thought. Did he get any sleep at all last night? Then he noticed that Erik has a band aid on his nose.

"Hey Erik, what happened to your nose?"

"Don't ask…" Erik groggily said.

Maybe he fell off his bed. Raoul hypothesized. Whatever gave him that band aid must be too embarrassing for him to tell.

Everyone sat down and started to eat breakfast. However, ten minutes later Erik gradually closed his eye and began to snore a little, with his head bobbing up and down.

"Erik if you're just gonna sleep at the table, might I suggest you leave the kitchen and take a rest before you eat." Raoul said angrily. "Falling asleep while eating is very bad table manners."

"Alright already..." Erik grumbled between snores. "I'm gonna… go and…"

PLOP! Erik had bobbed his head too far forward and landed on his plate of toaster pastries. To Christine and Raoul's amazement, Erik kept sleeping.

"Erik! Are you alright!"

"He can't hear you Christine, he's sleeping." Raoul stood up and started to put away the plates. "Tis best if we just let him be."

"I wonder what has caused Erik to be acting like this." Christine pondered. "Maybe he couldn't sleep last night."

"I think it's gotta be more than just that to get Erik going all like a narcoleptic." Raoul assumed. "Anyway, we'd better help him get out of the table before he drowns in his own food."

BEGIN FLASHBACK

YESTERDAY AT MIDNIGHT…

The summerhouse was all quiet; everyone was asleep, except for Erik.

"Damn it! I can't sleep well tonight!" Looking troubled, Erik kept pacing back and forth in his room, trying to get himself to sleep. "Maybe drinking a glass of warm milk might help."

Erik opened the door just enough so he could sneak out of his bedroom. He tiptoed towards the kitchen and drank his glass of warm milk.

"Ahhh, that's good stuff." Erik wiped his mouth clean with his arm and went back upstairs.

As he headed back to his bedroom he passed by Raoul's bedroom, then Christine's. He paused for a moment after passing by Christine's bedroom, deep in thoughts.

"Oh Christine… how I long to be with you as my wife and not just a companion with the fop." Erik sighed. "But why does that fool have to ruin my only dream."

He clenched his trembling fist, just thinking about Raoul taking Christine away from her Angel of Music by marrying her makes his blood boil and stirs up his anger.

"If only Raoul didn't exist! If only Raoul wasn't here now… then… then…" Erik loosened his grip, turned around and pressed his ear up against Raoul's bedroom door, listening intently for any signs of consciousness.

Only the sounds of the nighttime breeze and Raoul's snoring can be heard from the other side of the door.

"Good… he's asleep… now my plan can commence." Erik went back inside his bedroom, with a devious look on his face.

Erik opened his window and crept along the ledges, slowly, towards Raoul's bedroom window.

It's a good thing that Raoul always leaves his window open when he sleeps. Erik thought. This plan may not have been intended to happen in the first place but it sure is going smoothly.

Silently, the phantom slipped into the bedroom and stealthy approached his target.

With a pillow on his hands, Erik closed in on his target, the pillow inches above Raoul's face.

"Sweet dreams…" Erik whispered, then he pushed the pillow onto Raoul's face, but right before the pillow made contact, Raoul tossed and turned in his sleep, causing Erik to draw back.

Did I wake him up?

"Zzzz… mmm… scotch bonnets… zzzz…" Raoul was merely talking in his sleep.

Whew… he's still asleep… and apparently talking gibberish. But now is my chance to strike! Erik tiptoed towards Raoul for a second chance, ready to silence him… permanently.

"This time… you will no longer…"

POW!

"OWWW! You bastard!" Erik painfully yelled as he reeled back. Raoul had tossed and turned again, but this time his tosses and turns were replaced with thrashing involuntary kicks and punches.

"What was that? I thought I just heard Erik's voice?" The muffled voice of Christine can be heard from the other side of Raoul's bedroom wall.

"Crap! I have to get out of here fast!" Erik panicked, trying to cover his bleeding nose. Christine's footsteps can be heard from the other side of the wall; she's coming over to my room.

Erik hurriedly climbed out of the window, sneaked back to his room, and crept under the bed sheets, just in time, before Christine opened the door to take a quick peek.

Christine looked around, left and right, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Hmmm… that must have been all my imagination. Raoul was still in sleeping when I checked up on him. My, this imagination of mine is getting stronger and out of hand… oh well, better get back to sleep."

She yawned and closed the door. Erik came out of the sheets right after he heard the sound of the door clicked, still covering his nose.

Erik sat up and tried to get off the bed. "Must get a band-aid…" But he suddenly fell back into the bed out of exhaustion and slept.

Erik's impromptu plan has failed.

"Must get a band-aid… mmm… I need it nowzzzzzzzz…."

END OF FLASHBACK

"Erik… Erik… wake up… say something…" Christine's nervously said as she wiped the toaster pastry off of Erik's face.

Erik's eye began to open; his half closed lids can only discern a blurry image of Christine.

"Christine is that you…" Erik sat up from the sofa, where he was laid down after he plopped his head on the breakfast table. "What happened… and why does my face smell like apples?"

"Oh thank goodness you're feeling fine now!" Christine hugged Erik. "I was so worried; I thought you caught a fever or something."

Erik realized that his foolish nighttime antics did nothing but cause a commotion, and make Christine worry. He felt awful, just thinking about it.

"I'm sorry if I made you worry." Erik said in his soft, gentle voice. "I was just very tired, but now I feel so much better. So things can go back to normal now."

"I'm so glad to hear that."

"Let's have a fun summer vacation together." Erik stood up and held Christine's hand.

"Yes! Let's make this year, the best summer we'll ever have!"

**MINI EPILOGUE**

Meanwhile, upstairs… inside Raoul's room.

Raoul was making his bed, when he noticed something weird. "Hmmm… that's odd, I recall only having two pillows in my bed, so where did this third one come from?... A mystery, indeed."


	7. Day 5: Forbidden Fruit

**A/N: Hello everyone... FreeMind Annette here! I'm sorry for the massive delay for the updates and all since I had to work almost everyday for the past three weeks for both of my jobs (sighs). But now that I'm begining to have a little more free time... I'm happy to announce that chapter 7 is now up and running for your reading enjoyment! Yay! (claps)**

**Enjoy my latest chapter... oh, and if you could please R and R... that would be awesome (I gladly take constructive criticism and advice too)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POTO in any kind of way... except for the soundtrack that is... **

**Phantom of the Summerhouse  
**

**Day 5: Forbidden Fruit**

Another day, another fun adventure for the trio; Christine and Raoul, in shorts and t-shirts, were outside on the front porch steps of the summerhouse, waiting for Erik.

"Man, Erik sure takes his sweet ass time getting dressed." Raoul said, looking at his pocket watch. "We've been waiting for ten minutes already!"

"I'm sure Erik has a very good reason as to why he is taking so long to get ready." Christine kept watching the front door intently. "He should be coming anytime now."

As if on cue, the front door opened and Erik came out, wearing his usual tuxedo and cloak, and a broad brim black hat.

"Ummm… isn't that a little too formal for what we're going to do?" Raoul asked.

_"What are you talking about?"_ Erik looked down on his outfit, which is all nothing but black. _"There's nothing wrong with a little formality."_

"A little, you look like you're out and ready to stalk and Punjab someone!"

_"Well… if you put it that way then…" _With his hand resting on his chin, Erik had that evil glint in his eyes. _"That can be gladly arranged…"_

"No! Forget what I just said!" Raoul shook his head. "I'm not giving you any crazy ideas, anymore!"

"As long as you're fine wearing that in broad daylight, I don't think it's a big issue at all." Christine commented. "I hope you don't get too hot in that outfit."

_"That's where this hat comes in." _Erik proudly tipped back his hat and put his cloak on. _"Now let's get this over with quickly."_

"Geez Erik, could you be a little more enthusiastic about this. It's the least you can do." Raoul scolded with a slight tone of sarcasm.

_"But berry picking in the forest is so boring." _Erik crossed his arms and leaned against the front porch post. _"I have better things to do than wasting my time wandering aimlessly around the wilderness for just a bunch of berries."_

"Then why did you join us in the first place?" Raoul asked in a rather interrogative manner.

_"I think you already know the answer to that question."_

**Begin Flashback…**

Yesterday night, Erik had just finished his cold shower and put on his black pajamas. He left the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind him… then he heard voices, the voices of Raoul and Christine to be exact, talking downstairs. They appear to be having a very lively conversation, since Erik could sense a feeling of cheerfulness in their vague, indistinct tone of voice.

What could they be talking about? Erik asked himself, wanting to know eagerly. And what's worse… is that I'm not even there to hear about it! Are they hiding something from me? I must know…

Erik casually went down the stairs, trying his best not to look too suspicious. The last thing he needed was to be caught eavesdropping on the couple's chit chat.

"What do you think we should do tomorrow Raoul!" Christine was sitting in the kitchen chair with Raoul right across the table. "We should do something fun and different!"

"Hmmm…" Raoul thought about it for a few seconds, and then he finally had an idea in mind, marked with a big smile on his face just from thinking about it. "I know I know, how about we go berry picking in the forest down south of the summerhouse. It's different and fun… what do think?"

The thought of berry picking did not sit well in Erik's mind. His primal instinct is screaming to say no. And he did, Erik ran barefooted towards the kitchen and yelled—

_"NO! NO! NO! There is no friggin' way we are going berry picking! That has got to be THE WORST way to waste your summer!"_ Erik crossed his arms in front of him to form a big X, gesturing his full rejection of Raoul's suggestion.

"How dare you say that about berry picking!" Raoul angrily said. "You haven't even tried it yet."

_"And I would like it to stay that way."_

"Hmmph… It's surely a lot better than sitting inside the summerhouse making crafts all day."

_"The only reason why I prefer to do crafts is because I'm not very fond of going outdoors. I'm not into this 'The Great Outdoors' saying."_

"Man, you make it sound like you have a sun allergy or something…" Raoul sneered.

_"You're the only one here who wants to go berry picking anyway. So if you want to go prancing around the woods with a basket, just for a bunch of fruits, then go by yourself… you girly man!"_

"Ummm… I want to go berry picking too!" Christine interrupted the brewing fight. "I've never done it before and I want to go!"

"…" Both Raoul and Erik went silent, staring at Christine, then towards each other with animosity.

_"… Fine! I'll go berry picking with you guys!"_ Erik reluctantly agreed and accepted defeat. He absolutely hated the thought of being left out while Christine is having fun spending summertime with Raoul alone, much more than berry picking.

"Yay! I'm so excited about this, I can't wait!" Christine smiled.

Raoul grinned, happy to know that Christine is showing great interest. Then he turned around and caught a glimpse of Erik, with his shaking clenched fists on his side, and a slight twitch went across his face.

A few beads of sweat went down Raoul's nervous face. "I sure hope he doesn't do anything crazy or stupid tomorrow…"

**End Flashback…**

Raoul placed his hand on his forehead and let out a big sigh, worn out just from talking Erik into cooperating. "I can't believe I'm tired. Just talking to him tires me out!"

Seeing Raoul mentally exhausted, Christine decided to help out and try to encourage the phantom to get in the spirit of berry picking.

She walked up close to Erik and whispered to his ear: "Erik… do you remember those little waffles I made a few days ago with the tiny blueberries?"

_"Of course, they were beyond delicious!"_ Just the mere mention of Christine's waffles caught Erik's interest.

"Do you want me to make those little waffles with the tiny blueberries?"

_"Oh do I! Yes, I would love to have some of your lovely waffles with the blueberries for dinner!"_ Erik perked up with enthusiasm.

"Okay, then." Christine continued to calmly whisper. "If you want to have waffles tonight, can you help us gather some blueberries in the woods?"

Erik paused for a few seconds, contemplating long and hard about the deal… then finally, he has made his decision— _"Alright… I'll do it! Now let's haul our asses to the forest and go get some berries!"_ And with it Erik ran off, arms up in the air, leaving Christine and Raoul trailing behind him, trying their best to catch up with the hopped-up phantom.

_"Waffles waffles waffles…"_ Erik softly said to himself in a sing-song attitude as he happily ran ahead to the forest, with an almost total disregard to his companions trying to catch up with his speed. _"WAFFLES HERE I COME!"_

Curious and baffled, Raoul asked— "Christine… how on earth did you talk Erik into coming along with us?"

"Oh it's nothing special, really." Christine smiled and continued walking in a leisurely pace, swinging her basket on her arm back and forth. "I just told Erik that if he helps us pick some berries, I would make him some of my homemade waffles with blueberries for dinner tonight."

"… That's it!" Raoul raised an eyebrow. "That's all you told him!" He couldn't believe, let alone imagine, that Erik can be persuaded with something as simple as waffles. "Does this mean that we are going to be having waffles for dinner?"

"Well what can I say, it's his favorite food. And I promised to him already… so yes were having waffles for dinner."

"Hmmm… at least we can now start picking some berries." Raoul sighed. "Now let's hurry up, before we lose further sight of Erik. I doubt he even knows his way around the woods."

Christine and Raoul had entered the woods a couple of miles south from the summerhouse. After much extensive searching, they finally found a large patch of blueberry bushes hiding in the trees.

"Wow! Look at all the berries." Christine exclaimed, quickly walking towards the bushes, ready to pick them. "I have never seen so many them all in one small place, it's so amazing!"

"Mother used to take me with her in this very same spot when I was a child. Indeed, this is one of the best berry picking spots known only by my family."

"But that was a long time ago. What if someone else had discovered this place?"

"Nonsense, this forest is so remote that we have a much better chance of crossing paths and being attacked and killed by a hostile bear."

"… That's not funny at all." Christine coldly replied. "I could have gone without knowing that."

Suddenly, a loud rustle came from the bushes far across them. By instinct, Christine held Raoul tight around her arms, in an attempt to gain a sense of security.

"That noise! What could it be?"

"Maybe it's a bear, like the one I was talking about."

"You're not helping here Raoul. That kind of talk is just going to make matters worse." The suspense was too much; Christine loosened the grip of her embrace and held one of Raoul's forearms with both her hands. "Hurry, while we still have time! We should run!"

"No, we mustn't!" Raoul resisted the pull from his panic-filled wife. "I've read and heard stories of violent bear encounters, and turning your back and fleeing is the last thing you would want to do."

"Then what do you suggest we should do?" Christine's hands trembling even more.

Raoul lifted Christine's head by her chin, allowing her to make eye contact with his steady and calm eyes. "I have an idea… trust me."

After he whispered the plan, Christine lied down on the flat grassy part of the berry patch as Raoul instructed, with every effort attempting to appear dead, in hopes to deceive the bear.

Her husband, on the other hand, hid behind a tree nearby. His eyes fixed upon the rustling bushes.

Seconds later, the bushes moved even more. A tall, unknown, black figure came out, making its way towards where Christine was hiding.

With one quick swift motion, Raoul's steady hands swung a big broken tree branch above his head and down onto the assailant's head, creating a loud thud.

"Gotcha!" Raoul threw away his blunt weapon and motioned Christine to come out. "You can come out now honey, everything is fine."

_"No everything's not fine, fool!"_ The black figure grabbed Raoul's wrist and held it with a vice-like grip, delivering pain. _"You've got some nerve to pound me on the head like that!"_

"Erik! What the hell were you doing in those bushes!" Raoul painfully said, doing everything in his power to pull away from Erik's crushing grip.

_"When I ran into the forest… I started looking for you guys since you got lost and…"_

"What do you mean 'WE got lost'? You're the one who went ahead without us and got lost." By then Raoul had finally freed his arm, holding his red marked wrist.

_"Owww… you hit me pretty damn hard!"_ Erik placed his hand on his sore head, feeling a bump from the area of impact.

Christine approached Erik and knelt down beside him, looking worried. "Are you alright Erik?" That's when she noticed that his cloak, lying on the ground, had unusually large lumps on it, as if there was something underneath.

Christine lifted up one of the corners of the cloak, her eyes widened at the sight of what was hidden underneath, a large mass of assorted fruits found in the forest, cleverly concealed in his cloak like a basket.

Erik stood up, still staggering, brushing off the dirt and dust off his clothes but failed. When he saw Christine's discovery, he smiled. _"While I was looking for you guys, I came across with a lot of trees and bushes with different kinds of fruits and took them… What do you think?"_

"You've picked up so many!" Christine said with awe. "I've never even seen some of these other ones before in any marketplace."

Raoul took a closer look at the assortment of fruits that Erik had already picked. There were fruits of every shape, colour, and size. Among those that were commonly known are apples, peaches, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and of course blueberries. After his first glance, one fruit in particular caught his eye and his attention, the one that closely resembled the shape of a heart, but as tiny and bright red as a strawberry. A scheming look briefly painted an expression on Raoul's face.

"Hmmm… I noticed that you picked up this one fruit here that's shaped like a heart." Raoul said in a nonchalant manner.

_"So… what about it then…"_ Erik said without a care for the fop's comment.

"I'd have to say that it's just my luck that you picked up this fruit… I've always wanted to find it in this forest, since it's well-known for its distinct sweet taste… And now thanks to you I can finally have it!" Raoul slowly reached out for the heart-shaped fruit, when Erik batted his hand away, with a devious countenance.

_"I don't think so… seeing that you want this fruit that much intrigues me. In fact… it makes me want to take away from you even more…"_

"But I want it! Gimme! Give it!"

_"NO!" _Erik quickly took the heart-shaped fruit into his hands, with an evil grin on his face. _"Heh heh heh, I'm eating this fruit… whether you like it or not… and there's nothing you can do about it!"_

Erik ate the fruit whole, slowly chewing it to catch its taste.

"How is it, Erik?" Christine asked, who got really curious of this little heart-shaped fruit from the way Raoul described it. "Is it good?"

Erik, eyes wide open, placed both his hands on his reddened face, covering his mouth. _"WATER! I NEED WATER!"_

The sounds of suppressed laughter were coming from Raoul's mouth, as Erik darted out of the forest, with one hand still covering his mouth.

"Erik wait! Where are you going!" Christine promptly picked up Erik's forgotten cloak full of fruits and ran as fast as she can to try and catch up with the phantom. Raoul followed right behind her, still holding himself back from bursting out into an all-out uncontrollable laughing and pointing.

More than a few minutes later, after some running around in circles and zigzags, Christine and Raoul finally came out of the forest… and in front of them is the scenery of the nearby lake… and Erik drinking water right out of the lake like he was trying to drink up the lake dry.

Seeing this, Raoul couldn't keep his laughter in check anymore, which finally resulted in him letting out a huge burst of hysterical laughter. "AHA HA HA! I can't believe you fell for it! That was truly priceless!"

Christine dropped Erik's cloak and took out a little battered pocketbook entitled "Wilderness Survival for the Not-So-Average" in her pocket and looked up the red fruit culprit. After scanning through some of its pages, she found the page she was looking for at last— "According to this pocketbook, the fruit that Erik just ate is one of many poisonous/malicious berries most commonly found in the forest. The fruit's name, 'Heart of Fire' (A/N: sweet treat reward given to anyone who can guess where I got this name from ) is given due to its heart-like shape, and its distinct spicy and uncomfortable fiery taste."

"Raoul! I can't believe you made him eat that!" Christine said. "You knew this all along now, did you!"

"No, of course not!" Raoul answered, still laughing in between his speeches. "You think that I, Raoul would have intentionally brought upon this to Erik!"

Erik, looking flushed, trudged out of the lake, dragging his wet feet on the ground as he approached Raoul.

Uh-oh! Now he's really angry! Raoul thought.

"Whatever you do Erik, don't kill him!" Christine shouted, hoping that Erik won't go into his old ways of insane murderous rage hysterics.

_"Don't worry Christine…"_ Erik eerily replied, walking closer and closer to Raoul, his head loosely hanging down, looking on the ground instead of what's ahead of him. _"I won't do anything that drastic… just… THIS!"_

Erik picked up a pale blue piece of fruit in his cloak, and plugged Raoul's mouth with it; who accidentally swallowed it afterwards.

"What the hell was that!" Raoul took a couple of steps back from Erik, shocked by what had just happened. "What did you just put into my mouth!"

Erik shrugged. _"How should I know…? I just picked up some random fruit in my cloak that's all!"_

Christine opened her pocketbook once more, flipping through the pages. "Erik… did it happen to be a pale blue plum-shape fruit with tiny yellow spots in it?"

Erik scratched his head, recalling the last few minutes. _"Ummm… come to think of it… yes! Yes it does! Why do you ask?"_

"Raoul… I don't think you're going to like this one bit. The fruit that Erik just force fed you with is called 'The Forbidden Fruit' and it's been named for a very good reason. It's the most poisonous/malicious fruit in the forest."

"What! What does it do— !" Raoul anxiously asked, but before he could finish his sentence a sharp sensation of pain passed through his body, and he went down on his knees. "Ooohhh… my stomach hurts! I think everything I ate today just went south."

"It's one of the side effects of eating 'The Forbidden Fruit'… a bad case of-"

"I GOTTA GO USE THE CRAPPER!" Raoul ran like he had never run before back to the summerhouse with both of hands on his buttocks.

"…Diarrhea…" Christine finally finished reading the entire profile of the fruit. She slammed the book shut and put it back into her pocket, hoping that she would never have to open it ever again.

_"Don't worry Christine…"_ Erik patted her shoulder as they started to walk back towards the summerhouse, with the fruits in his cloak. _"I'm sure he'll be fine, once the fruit completely passes through his system that is."_

I think my wish for a normal summer vacation just went further downhill. Christine thought, and she let out a big sigh.

**Mini Epilogue**

Later that night… the aroma of freshly made waffles filled the kitchen. Erik and Christine are both having their waffle dinner, even though Erik seems to be the only one enjoying it the most.

**Erik: **_"I love you WAFFLES!"_ (Takes a big bite off the waffle) _"Mmmm… so good… this has got to be the best waffles I've ever had, beats my usual cold cereal breakfast back then at the opera house any day."_

**Christine:** (Keeps staring at the stairs, looking worried) "I wonder if Raoul will be well enough to come down for dinner tonight?"

**Erik:** _"Nah, relax! He'll be fine… he may be girly man, but he's a persistent little girly man… so he'll manage on his own. And this is going to remind him not to pull a stunt like that on me next time." _(Pours a spoonful of the safe-to-eat berries they picked that afternoon and eats it with the waffles)

Meanwhile upstairs… the sound of a toilet flushing came up and Raoul slowly walked out of the bathroom, feeling very relieved.

**Raoul: **"Ahhh… that feels so much better… I think that's that last of them-" (his stomach loudly growled and he placed both of his arms on his stomach) "Ugh… Guess there's still some more left…"

Raoul quickly turned around and went back into the bathroom.

It was a long, hard day indeed for the trio.


	8. Day 6: Arts and Craps

**Phantom of the Summerhouse**

**A/N: Hi Everybody! It's-a-me FreeMind Annette!... Ahem, sorry for the Super Mario impression there earlier. I couldn't get that New Super Mario Bros. game off of my head ever since my friend let me play with it. That aside, I'd like to present PHANTOM OF THE SUMMERHOUSE, chapter 8! (raises a big red velvet curtain, unveiling the latest chapter) Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I'm tired of this, so I assume you all know it already. (falls asleep in the middle of Phantom's lair) ZZZZZzzzzzz...  
**

* * *

**Day 6: Arts and Craps**

It was a cool summer night; the red oak grandfather clock at the living room inside read ten o'clock. At this hour, Erik, Christine, and Raoul, the unlikely trio living under the same roof of the summerhouse would be snug in their beds, happily drifting into dreamland until morning beckons them to depart with their sweet slumber. However, this was not the case for this particular night, for some reason they were still awake.

In the kitchen, where they can be found, there was a strong heavy air of awkward silence looming over the trio. Seated at the edge of their seats, everyone gave each other long, uneasy stares, hoping that someone would break the tormenting silence.

_"… So is anyone going to go ahead? Or do I have to harass you first!"_ Erik tried to start a conversation, annoying Raoul to give in.

"Could both of you please hurry up and draw one." Christine stretched out her arm in the middle of the table, which had three identical pieces of straw held in her clenched fist. "We're not getting anything done with all of us just sitting here and gawking at each other."

"A-alright already!" Raoul finally gave in to the pressure. He reached out his trembling hand for one of the straws.

"… Damn! I got a long straw!" Raoul grunted.

_"Hah! No more berry picking for us!"_ Erik sneered. _"Anyway, that aside… Christine go on ahead and pick one first before I do."_

"Okay!" Christine took a deep breath and began to mumble to herself, which surprisingly sounds like an 'Ennie-Minnie-Mini-Mo', as her free hand starts to point at the last two straws back and forth.

"… Mo!" Christine picked the left straw and drew it out.

"Aw shucks, I got a long one too!" Christine was disappointed by her choice, and her ill luck. "I guess this means that…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Erik jumped out of his seat, nearly bouncing up and down the kitchen, bursting with joy. _"Yeah! Yes, yes, yes! It's me!"_

"Of all the men and women put together in this world, he has got to be the worst one to win at a time like this." Raoul rested his forehead in the palm of his hand.

_"Oh yeah! Who's the king? I am!"_ Erik exclaimed as he proceeds to do what appears to be his happy dance (A/N: Who knew that Erik had one in the first place? XD!), which appears to be cross between the chicken dance and the Macarena.

Christine couldn't help but turn her attention at the unusually happy phantom, with a couple beads of sweat coming down her face. "Well… now that we're done drawing lots, it's time for the winner to decide what we should do for the entire day tomorrow! So Erik, what's it going to be!"

_"… Hmmm… let me think…"_ Erik pondered, stroking his chin with his hand.

"What's to think… you're only going to say: 'let's play kick the can!'" Raoul blurted out, mocking Erik's voice.

_"Shut your mouth! I'm trying to think here!"_ Erik snapped and went back to his deep thinking. _"… I've got it! Let's do arts and crafts tomorrow!"_

"Yay, that sounds like a lot of fun!" Christine clasped her hand together with satisfaction.

"What! Arts and crafts, no way." Raoul protested. "Why can't we just go hiking or do something outdoors!"

Erik grabbed Raoul's shoulder from behind and turned him around, forcing a hostile eye contact. _"Look you, we've already done your stupid berry picking yesterday… now it's my turn to pick what we are going to do… got it!"_ Erik sharply glared daggers towards Raoul, showing that he really won't take no for an answer.

"Plus Erik won fair and square." Christine added. "I don't see why we shouldn't."

Raoul let out a big sigh. "… Oh alright, Erik you win, I give up. We're doing arts and crafts tomorrow."

_"Yes!"_ Erik happily whispered to himself.

"Let's head to bed now, we have a long day ahead of us."

Christine yawned. "Agreed, I'm getting really sleepy from all of this."

o-o-o-o-o-o

The next day, the trio are sitting at the kitchen table again, filled with a wide variety of arts and crafts supplies instead of food. Virtually everything you need to create a work of art are all laid out on the table… from beads to yarns, you name it, and you can be sure that it's there.

"This is a lot more fun than I imagined it would be." Christine said, whilst stringing a couple of beads into small piece of hemp rope. "I never get a chance to do these at the Opera Populaire before."

Erik smiled from hearing Christine's comment, as he continued to create his mysterious handmade masterpiece… rather secretly.

"How bout you Raoul, are you enjoying arts and crafts so far?"

Raoul mumbled and groaned at the piece of yarn and knitting needle in his hands for a couple of seconds before he realized that Christine just asked him a question. "Huh, what… yeah sure I'm having fun… now if I could only get this string to link up with this other piece of string… oh dang it I missed a stitch, now I have to repeat the entire row again!"

"What are you knitting Raoul?" Christine rested her head on his shoulder to get a better view.

"I'm making a scarf." Raoul answered. "Just like the one you had when you were young, and once I'm done, I'll give it to you as a present."

_"What, how dare you steal my idea!"_ Erik lifted his head and broke his intense concentration on his craft, glaring at Raoul with anger. _"That's my idea! I'm supposed to give my special work of art to Christine as a present, not you and your prissy little scarf!"_

"You never said a thing about giving Christine anything until now, so technically TECHNICALLY I did not steal your idea."

_"… Damn it, I hate it when you're right!"_ Erik quickly turned around, with his back facing towards Raoul, as he continued working on his craft, much more secretly than before. _"But I'm not telling anyone what I'm going to give to Christine until it is completely finished."_

"Yeah sure whatever floats your crazy boat." Raoul said in a rather cynical tone.

It's quite hard to point a finger in it, Christine thought to herself, but I get this feeling that both Erik and Raoul are somewhat having fun, even though they don't seem to show it very well whenever they're together.

Well, at least they're not breaking out into senseless fights that often anymore, and I'm happy to see some signs of diminishing hostility. Christine smiled with much optimism as she continued to finish her craftwork.

-o-o-o-o-

Later that night, Erik, Christine and Raoul had finally finished working on their arts and crafts, sitting on the sofa in the living room, ready to show off the fruits of their labour.

"I hope you like what I made for you, Christine." Raoul handed over a tiny piece of pink cloth with a couple of simple hems and seams.

"Oh that's so sweet Raoul," Christine said, "But don't you think this is a little too small for a scarf?"

Raoul let out a loud nervous laugh, his hand scratching his long blonde locks. "Yes, it was supposed to be a scarf, but I kept screwing up on the knitting that I had to downsize it into a handkerchief."

Erik sarcastically clapped. _"Wow, a hankie as a gift? That has got to be the best present I had ever seen! Whoop de do!"_

"Shut up! Not everyone is a God's gift to arts and crafts!"

"How bout you Erik, what did you make?" Christine asked, with a curious look in her eyes. "Can we see it?"

_"Of course you can!"_ Erik happily replied, his voice and facial expression suddenly perked up with joy as he turned around and faced towards Christine. _"I have it here right now, but first you must close your eyes!"_

"Okay!" Christine quickly complied and covered her eyes with her hands. "I'm ready when you are!"

"Yeah, let's see what's this present Erik is so proud of." Raoul crossed his arms and leaned back on the sofa, watching.

Erik held out his arm from behind the sofa, reaching for his hidden present, and gently laid it on Christine's lap. _"Alright, you can open your eyes now!"_

Christine swiftly moved her hands away from her face, astonished by what she has seen, she squealed— "It's so… CUTE!"

"… WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSE TO BE!" Raoul blurted out.

_"Don't you know a teddy bear when you see one?"_ Erik grimaced.

"I know that it's a teddy bear," Raoul retorted, "but why the hell is it wearing a black tuxedo and a mask?"

_"Duh, it's me; only in a cute mini teddy bear form. Complete with beady emerald eyes, a little button nose, a fluffy bunny-like tail, and a miniature paper-mache rose with a black ribbon tied to its stem."_

"This is supposed to be cute…?" Raoul uttered as he kept staring at the little Phantom teddy bear in a rather odd and confused manner.

"Well I like it! I like both of your gifts!" Christine exclaimed as she leaned over and gave both of them a big warm hug. "Thank you very much!"

"Aww, you're very welcome." Raoul blushed.

_"…"_ Erik didn't say a word, but the slight curl at the corner of his mouth easily revealed his inner bliss.

"Oh, and don't think I forgot about you guys!" Christine turned around and fervently fished something out of her skirt pocket. "I made a gift for you two!"

"What it is?" Erik and Raoul asked in a rather anxious tone.

"This!" Christine handed out a hemp bracelet with decorative beads stringed all over the rope.

"A hemp bracelet, this is wonderful." Raoul said. "Hey, check it out, my bracelet says 'LOVE AND PEACE'!" (A/N: Trigun anime is stuck on my head while I was writing this! XD!)

_"… Wow, it even has my name on it, I like it."_ Erik grinned, as he looked at the hemp bracelet tied on his left wrist, thinking: Never in my life has anyone ever given me a present before, big or small… This warm sense of happiness from the bottom of my heart must be how one feels when you've been given a gift from the one you love the most… Christine, this bracelet will never part with my wrist, and I shall treasure it forevermore.

"Really! You really really like it! Oh, I'm so happy I could just give you guys a BIG hug!" Christine took a big leap and gave Erik and Raoul another, but an even bigger hug than before.

_"Aahhh you're choking me!"_

"Oh, I'm sorry Erik." Christine loosened her hold on them. "Are you hurt?"

_"No, I'm fine."_ Erik jokingly laughed. _"I was just pulling your leg, that's all."_

"Then let's continue where we stopped," Christine shouted, "group hug!"

Christine gave Erik and Raoul the biggest and longest hug she's ever given (A/N: Aahhh, so much warm fuzzies around the air). Then they all went to bed afterward, ready for the next day, whatever crazy things life throws at them.


End file.
